Ending of Our Lives
by Xx-Luka.Grimm-xX
Summary: This is it!  The final story of Yoko and Sora's lovely little romance that has gotten pretty much nowhere.  Read about Yoko and her adventures trying to save her friends and her sanity.  Sora/OC-Yoko
1. Chained

Disclaimer: Again, for like the millionth time… I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Only Yoko, Ren and Moriko.

Where am I…?

I was floating- scratch that, maybe more like suspended over what looked eerily like black water. It was completely undisturbed and shone from a nonexistent light source. I felt cold… but warm at the same exact moment.

"_Onee-chan, you shouldn't have let the darkness in…_" Ren's soft voice said in my mind.

"**I think it was the right choice.**" Yamiko argued. I could almost hear the smug smile he was most likely wearing. They both appeared before me and I glared at Yamiko.

"You're a bastard, you know that Yamiko." I spat at him. He grinned and ran a hand through his messy hair.

"**Thanks, **_**Yoko**_**. That means so much coming from you.**" He said with sarcastic happiness. Ren glanced at him with a look of disgust in her eyes.

"_God, how did your mind conjure up this guy_?" she asked looking back at me. I smiled at my sister.

"I have no idea Ren-chan." I answered laughing lightly. Yamiko made a puking gesture with his finger and made choking noises. I rolled my eyes. "Oh shut up, Yamiko. You're the reason I'm in this shit!" I shouted. I expected an echo, maybe even just a small one- but no noise reverberated. I frowned. "Where am I?" I voice out my earlier question. Ren's look of disgust left her face and she looked around.

"_I'm not sure…_" she murmured. Yamiko scoffed. We gave him dirty looks and he grinned.

"**You really don't know**?" he asked. I narrowed my eyes.

"Spit it out Yamiko." I hissed. He laughed and drool dribbled down his chin. He breathed in and looked at us.

"**The darkness… It pulled you in when it saw the growing flicker of dark in your heart!**" he shouted. I would've stepped back, if it weren't for the fact there was no ground to step on.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"**Face it, Yoko. You were around darkness a year ago and then you gave into my wondrous insanity. The dark in your heart is growing and feeding off the light and love. Soon…**" he paused to let out a soft breathy laugh, "**soon you'll be either like me…**" he stopped looking behind me. "**Or them.**" He finished. I turned around and saw Heartless and Nobodies crawling and limping their way over to me. But then I noticed a much worse looking creature. It was a human figure wearing a torn cloak. It reeked of rotting flesh and blood and wore only an ear to ear sharp-toothed grin. No eyes, no face, just a wide sadistic grin.

I tried to move away when more appeared but I was stuck.

"_Yoko! Yoko, think of the light! Think of things and people you love!_" Ren screamed. I was disoriented. Her voice sounded distant as well as Yamiko's cackling. My breathing quickened as the creature neared me and the stench overwhelmed my senses. I screamed and white light filled the abyss. The creatures squealed and hissed with pain and vanished. Now I was just standing in the shallow black water below me, but everything else looked like a blue colored sky with clouds. I turned around and no longer saw Ren or Yamiko. I frowned and began walking.

Where are my friends? Why couldn't I leave with them? And…

"Sora…" As soon as my friend's name left my mouth I reached up to my lips. _Now that he's gone… I-_

"**You miss him? You loooove~ him?**" I turned around to see Yamiko sitting Indian style in midair. Heat rose to my cheeks and I turned away from him.

"You know what?" I said, still looking away. "I'm done with you. How about you just leave me alone?" I hissed before walking away.

"**You disgust me! Giving into love like that instead of insanity!**" he called after me. I rolled my eyes and scoffed.

I just wish I realized I loved him before all this crap happened…

. . .

_I sighed as I closed my locker. I readjusted my glasses and hefted my heavy load in to my arms. I heard someone running and then I just felt pain. I hit the cold tile floors of the school and looked around in bewilderment. All I saw was a frenzy of brown spiky hair picking up the papers we dropped. I stared at the person until they finally looked up. Then all I saw were two wide ocean blue eyes. I knew this boy from somewhere. Maybe from Moriko. I wouldn't know. He took a moment and then began mumbling and stuttering out apologies. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to run into you!" he handed me my papers and notebooks and I smiled._

"_It's alright… I'm used to people not noticing me." I said softly. He raised a brow as we stood and I blushed. "Um… thanks…" I added. "For helping me." _

"_YOKO-CHAN!" Moriko's voice rang out. I cringed at the volume and the boy laughed. _

"_I have to go. Bye." I said lifting one hand in farewell before running off._

. . .

"Ah… those were the good old shy days." I mumbled as I continued walking through the shallow inch-deep water. My vans weren't even wet it was so shallow. I sighed and looked around. Still nothing in sight. I slowed when I saw a little stone platform, standing out of the water. I ran over to it and saw train tracks running parallel to it under the water. I sat down on the platform and stared at the blue sky.

"I wonder how the others are doing without me." I murmured. A short chuckled rose from my throat. "Probably freaking out and looking for me. Oh well~ It's not my fault I was pulled back in." But now… I had no clue as to where I was. I couldn't tell if I was in the realm of darkness or the realm of light. All I knew, was that I was alone and waiting for a, most likely, non-existent train. I closed my eyes and heard a long high pitched whistle. Something large rushed past me and slowed to a stop. My eyes snapped open and I saw passenger train with ten cars.

The doors slid open with a hiss and I stood up. I peered inside and saw it was a dining and bed train. There were rooms and halls, but absolutely no one inside. I stepped in and the doors closed behind me immediately. I spun around but fell backward as the train lurched forward at an alarming speed. I held onto the railing and waited to get used to the speed. I stood up shakily and made my way to one of the rooms. I slid open the Japanese styled door and sat down on the bed.

I rubbed my temples as I went over everything that happened. I had gone crazy and been pulled into darkness. I floated in an abyss with my hallucinations. I was now sitting in a train. And what confused me was I couldn't tell if I was in reality or not. I let out a heavy sigh and fell asleep.

. . .

Third Person-

"Yuffie, I want you to patrol around the town again. I'm gonna go check things at the Postern." Leon said. Yuffie smiled and saluted the usually stoic Leon.

"Aye aye, Captain!" she said before bouncing off to patrol. Leon smirked and then walked off. He moved through the Bailey and felt something strange coming from the abandoned castle across the way. He looked over at the ruins and frowned.

"What's going on there?" he murmured as he changed his course of direction.

Leon entered the castle and looked around. There were absolutely no Heartless at all. None in sight. He narrowed his eyes and headed toward the Grand Hall from the Library. Still no Heartless. He was growing nervous. He entered the Grand Hall and walked up the stairs, gunblade in hand. Leon looked around and saw a small body lying on the marble floor, glowing white. He lowered his sword and recognized the girl.

"Yoko?"

He let his gunblade vanish and picked her up, carrying her on his back.

. . .

"And you say she was just lying there?" Cid questioned. Leon nodded and glanced back at the still glowing girl on the bed. Aerith had placed a wet cloth over her forehead and Merlin was looking into what was going on.

"Hey Cid, can you try and contact Sora and the others or maybe Donald and Goofy? They need to know that she's alright." He said to the mechanic. Cid brushed his nose and nodded.

"Sure thing." And with that he left the bedside, heading to the computer. Leon pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily. He needed a walk, he decided.

. . .

Moriko looked over at the boy who had continued to brood ever since they returned to their home. She could understand why, but Sora was close to harming himself. She let out a sigh and saw Kairi run up to her with a rush and panicky look on her face. "What's wrong Kai?" Moriko queried the reddish brown haired girl. Kairi held out a bottle with a piece of paper. The seal caught her attention. "The King?" she asked. "Do you think it's…?" she trailed off, not being able to bring herself to say her friend's name. They stood in silence before running in the direction of the boys talking by the Paopu tree.

"SORA! RIKU!" Kairi shouted as we neared them.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Riku questioned. Kairi caught her breath and showed them the bottle.

"The King!" Sora exclaimed grabbing it. He opened it eagerly and uncurled the message. He read silently and a smile formed on his face. "They found her. Yoko's in Radiant Gardens!" He shouted with glee. "It says that Merlin will transport us all there once we've received the letter." Moriko let out a sigh of relief and looked at her boyfriend. He shared the look of happiness and hugged her tightly.

"I'm so glad they found her…" Moriko murmured into his shoulder.

"I know…" Sora and Kairi coughed awkwardly and the couple pulled apart blushing. Moriko felt a tingling sensation and before she knew it, she was back in the world she grew up in.

They headed to Merlin's house and the first thing they saw was a brightness coming from one corner of the room. They looked at the others and saw that they were wearing sunglasses and staring at the form on the bed. Moriko deadpanned before squinting along with the others and saw the source of the incredibly bright white light was Yoko. "Yoko?" Mori asked. Leon looked at her with a grim smile before ushering them back outside.

"I found her in the castle ruins by the keyhole. She was just lying there glowing. And ever since I brought her here, the glowing has been getting brighter and brighter. We have no clue what's going on with her." Leon explained.

"And what's strange is, whenever she's having nightmares or looks like she's in pain, the light goes a dark purple color and this dark aura seeps from her." Aerith said softly looking uncomfortable with explaining this. Yuffie nodded and added a comment for good measure.

"Yeah, it's really creepy." She said. Cid and Leon gave her a "shut-up" look and Aerith just sighed and shook her head. Merlin on the other hand just looked pissed.

"What's wrong Merlin?" Riku questioned. Merlin met the boy's eyes and sighed in defeat.

"What confuses me is… why would she be returned to this world if it is not her own world? She should have appeared on Destiny Islands, I presume." He stated. Sora and Riku shared a look of confusion while Mori, Kairi, Leon and the others besides Merlin, a look of understanding. Kairi spoke up.

"Merlin, Yoko's not from Destiny Islands. She and Mori are from Radiant Gardens." Kairi stated. Merlin, Riku and Sora shared expressions of pure shock.

"What?" Sora questioned. Moriko sighed.

"Yoko was born here. She lived here up until five years ago." She paused to register how the others were taking this and continued. "Yoko and Ren's parents died when Yoko was six years old. Ren was only three. It was some freak accident. I lived here with my parents and my cousin." She paused gesturing to Leon. "Yoko had told me that one day she and Ren were trying to get out of the rain and a man helped them. That man was Ansem the Wise. He took care of them as if he were their own father. He loved them and they loved him. They lived in the castle since Ansem and his apprentices were always researching, but Yoko and Ren visited the Postern every day.

"They became good friends with all six apprentices as well as Lea and Isa, due to the fact that Radiant Gardens does not have a large population. I hadn't met them yet but I knew the apprentices, Lea and Isa very well. They were a large group of dysfunctional brothers to me, but they never wanted me inside the lab. One day, a year later, my father sent me to give Ansem an important file about something- I never learned what- and I met Yoko and Ren. They had been pulling pranks on Even and Braig with Ienzo…" Moriko trailed off smiling, thinking of the good times. She shook her head to clear her daze and sighed.

"Soon the apprentices went insane and Yoko and Ren left my family to Destiny Islands. There they got adopted and then four years ago… Ren died and everything… absolutely everything… changed." The others were silent, reviewing the information they had just gotten. Sora looked horrified and saddened. Riku, hollow and empty. Kairi, reminiscent. Moriko held back tears of her own and saw Aerith shedding a few.

"But back to the problem…" Leon said softly. "How do we wake her up?"

. . .

"_Yoko, why aren't Mama and Papa here?" little Ren asked her sister. Yoko shook her head._

"_Don't you remember Ren? They went to go see God and we'll see them again someday. They've just left for a little while." The six year old said with a fake smile. Ren grinned and the continued trudging through the downpour. They were looking for shelter but could find none. They gave up and saw down underneath the awning of an Item Shop. _

"_Excuse me?" a male voice asked politely. Yoko looked up, ready to kick and run if necessary. She saw a man with long blonde hair and brilliant and kind orange eyes. He held out a closed umbrella to the two girls. Yoko looked at it with question. "You look like you need this more than we do." he said with a smile. That's when she noticed a boy around her age with grey-blue hair and icy blue eyes. He looked completely shy and withdrawn but seemed kind. Yoko stood up and bowed to the man, taking the umbrella. He smiled widely and spoke again. "If you like you could stay at my home and warm up. Ienzo here would be more than happy to lend some dry clothing. Right Ienzo?" he said nudging the now blushing boy. He nodded and held out his hand to Yoko. Ren stood up happily and hugged the man. _

_Yoko looked at Ienzo and smiled, taking the hand of her newly found friend. The man grinned and knelt down to eye level. "What are your names?" he asked._

"_Yoko and this is Ren." Yoko said shyly. The man gave the warmest smile on earth and spoke._

"_You may call me Ansem."_

. . .

"Agh! Mori-chan!" Sora shouted. Moriko ran to the main room with panic.

"What? Is Yoko alright?" she freaked. He looked up at her with wide eyes.

"She's glowing bluish-green now." He pointed out. Mori looked over and sure enough, Yoko's body was now bathed in green-blue light. She had a peaceful smile.

"She must be having a pleasant dream…" Moriko said happily. Sora glanced at his friend then back to Yoko.

"I sure do hope so."

"Sora, Moriko. Leon wants to talk to everyone." Riku said peering from the doorway. Mori nodded and Sora stood up from his seat. They left Merlin's home and headed to the Postern with Riku. A thought crossed Moriko's mind and she frowned.

"Shouldn't somebody stay with Yoko?" she questioned. Sora paused a worry passed over him. Riku smiled.

"Don't worry, Leon told me that Cloud was gonna check in on her." Riku answered. Moriko nodded with relief. She knew Cloud from her time here and childhood. He could be trusted to look after Yoko.

They arrived at the Postern and walked into Ansem's study, where Leon and the others waited. They took their spots beside Kairi and waited for Leon to explain.

"Merlin has done some research and found that… a very powerful entity has taken over Yoko… King Mickey has gone into a little research himself to find out what, but he said that if Yoko's condition changes in any way to report it to him. And to be careful around her if and when she wakes up." Leon explained. There was a silence.

Aerith sighed, "Don't worry everyone. I'm sure Yoko will be fine. She's a strong girl."

. . .

_Darkness set in and the two girls hurriedly walked back down the street toward their home. It was a warm night, like always on Destiny Islands, but had a chilled breeze. They came up along an alleyway and Yoko was thrown to the ground. She groaned in pain and looked through half-opened eyes at her attacker. _

"_Onee-chan!" Ren shouted. The man struck the young girl and she fell to the ground. Yoko stood her ground and tried to fight back. She kicked him where the sun don't shine and ran to her sister. The man growled and Yoko felt a horrible tearing pain going down her back. She screamed and the man kicked her away. She watched in silent horror as the man stabbed Ren repeatedly. The man left them there, bleeding and dying. _

"_Ren…" Yoko said hoarsely crawling over to her. "Ren?" Ren's eyes were wide-open and glassed over. "Ren! No, please wake up!" she cried. She fell over resting her head on Ren's bloodied stomach as a woman passing by rushed over._

"_Oh my God! What happened?" she exclaimed. She didn't wait for a response and called 911. All Yoko could remember after that were the sirens blaring in her ears._

. . .

Cloud grunted as he fell back against the wall from the hit. He glared at his attacker. A strange creature with an ominous grin but nothing else. It looked like a cloaked human body that bended its limbs in impossible ways. He stood his ground and brought down his buster blade on the creature. The other one surrounded him the moment their companion was turned to a smoky wisp that dissolved into the air. They knocked him back at such a force he hit the door and tumbled outside.

"Cloud!" Aerith called running over to her friend. Leon pulled out his gunblade, Moriko her double-edged sword, Sora his keyblade, Riku his Road to Dawn and so on and so forth… They saw the horrid creatures spilling from Merlin's home and attacked without second thought. Once they were all gone, they ran into the house looking for any others. Moriko looked over at Yoko and saw writhing around on the bed, glowing a bright purple with tendrils of black smoke swirling around her.

"Yoko." Kairi breathed out. Moriko rushed over to her friend and held her in a tight hug. The whimpering and struggling soon stopped and Mori felt something warm and sticky seeping through Yoko's shirt. She looked at her hands and frowned. Her eyes widened with worry and looked at her friends.

"Leon, she's bleeding."

"So what were those things?" Yuffie asked Cloud as Aerith tended to his wounds. He let out a breath and looked up.

"No clue, but when Yoko started doing whatever was happening earlier, a portal of some sort appeared above her and that's where the creatures came from." He said softly. Leon looked over at Moriko, who was sitting at Yoko's side now that she had been bandaged. Her glowing was now a soft pink color and she seemed calm. Mori hadn't said a word since the incident and Riku and Leon could obviously tell that she was hurting inside. Her best friend was in a comatose state and in trouble.

"So… you're saying that Yoko brought those things here?" Sora asked completely confused.

"That's one possibility, yes." Cloud answered, his voice strained as Aerith used disinfectant. A silence settled in the room and they all just stared at either one another or an inanimate object. Then, startling everyone, Merlin appeared in a puff of blue smoke and sparkles.

"His majesty may have found what those creatures are called. Soul Eaters. They're supposed to infest the mind and slowly eat away at your sanity. As long as they get inside of you." Merlin explained.

"So what does it have to do with Yoko?" Kairi questioned. Merlin let out a sigh.

"I'm entirely sure, but you did say she went insane at some point and that she still sees her little sister, correct?" he asked. Kairi nodded. "Well, King Mickey said that the creator of them is called Yamiko and is completely insane. He might've taken over her mind and be using her as a portal for his creations. King Mickey also said that he's drawn to the some of the purest hearts. So if Yoko does something evil, she's not in control of her mind or body." He said. Everyone looked horrified. Moriko let out sob and her tears fell on her friend's face. She had kept her back to them the whole time. There was a horrid silence and then the glowing from Yoko's body slowly dissipating.

"Mori-chan…" Sora said trying to get her attention. She ignored him and kept her eyes closed from the emotional pain. The others gasped behind her and a soft voice spoke.

"Alright- who's the bastard that made Moriko cry?" Okay, maybe it was more pissed and demanding than soft. Moriko opened her eyes and looked up. She met amber eyes and saw a cocky grin planted on Yoko's face. She squealed with joy and hugged her tightly.

"Owowowowow!" Yoko shouted. "Let go!" she commanded. Moriko released her and smiled.

"Sorry. I'm just so glad you're alright!" she exclaimed. Yoko smiled and then winced.

"What the hell happened to my back?" she groaned. Leon smirked at the vulgar language he hated to admit he missed. She let out a sigh and looked at all the relieved and happy faces in the room. She frowned.

"Where the frick are we?" she questioned. Moriko, Sora, Riku and Kairi deadpanned and Yuffie grinned glomping her, ignoring the fact she was protesting in pain.

"You, are in Radiant Gardens, my friend." Cid said from his seat at the computer, though he wasn't actually working on it. Yoko spaced for a moment and realized he meant Hollow Bastion. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed.

"I forget that this is the same place sometimes…" she murmured. Moriko gave her a look and pinched her friend's cheeks like an old woman.

"Don't go all Riku on me! You're the one reason I haven't gone insane around him and Sora." She scolded, getting a distasteful look from her boyfriend in the process. "No offense or anything." She threw over her shoulder. Yoko giggled as she watched Riku sulk to the corner of the room.

"It's good to see you all again." She said. "I swear I was going insane on that train…" she stopped. "Wait… that wasn't…" she paused holding her head. "GAH! I don't get it!" she freaked.

"Just get some rest for now, Yoko." Cloud said from a chair, now bandaged. She looked at her injured friend in shock for a moment and nodded slowly.

"Will do… after I stretch out my body. I feel like I haven't moved for, like, a year." She commented standing up. She looked at her friends' faces with bemusement. "What?"

Moriko sighed. "Sweetheart, you were missing for a year." She pointed out. Yoko frowned and looked at her reflection in a mirror across the way. Her hair had completely returned to the toe-head she once was and now reached her hips. She blinked and sighed.

"Great, no wonder I feel filthy as hell. Alright, I take a shower, then stretch, then rest." She said cheerfully. Kairi shook her head in wonder at how she survived this long.

"No Yoko. You're taking a shower, then resting and not going outside at all." Sora set straight. She looked at said boy funny and just stared for a moment, as if she were debating something in her head. She nodded her head once and spoke.

"Alright." She answered calmly turning down the hall and walking into the bathroom. Moriko blinked and stared in shock.

"What the hell happened to the Yoko I once knew and loved?" she asked. Riku nodded, out of his corner of woe.

"Normally she would have retorted with some harsh comeback or said something vulgar." He added. Sora pouted.

"Maybe she's just tired." He suggested.

"I think Sora's right." Kairi said. "She's probably mentally exhausted."

"Well, right now all she needs to do is rest for a while." Cid stated.

"Well, I'm off to tell His Majesty that Yoko is awake and doing well so far." Merlin said and the next instant he was gone. Yuffie blinked from the harsh light and sighed.

"I'm gonna go patrol." She said dragging Leon along with her while Cloud followed them out with Aerith. Kairi laughed at his expression and looked at Sora.

"Come on, let's go get her some new clothes while she's showering." She said pulling him along to shop.

"NOOOO! Please! Anything but shopping!" he cried as she dragged him out the door. Riku and Moriko watched and laughed at his pain. Riku looked at Moriko with a smile on his face.

She caught this and narrowed her eyes. "What?" she asked. He grinned.

"Nothing, just happy you're happy again." He said. She smiled and kissed his lips quickly.

"Thanks." She said. "Whelp! I'm gonna go see if I can help Sora out at all. He won't last more than five minutes in a bra store." She said with an amused look. Riku smirked at the thought of his best friend freaking out because of underwear.

"Yeah, you probably should. I'll stay here incase Yoko needs anything. Just send Key-boy over here to end his pain."

"Alright." She answered before closing the door. Riku seat himself on a sofa and looked at Cid who was busy typing away on the computer. He stared a while longer before asking.

"Cid," he said, his eyebrow twitching at the pictures on the screen. Three guesses as to what they are.

"Yeah?" the man replied not even glancing at the silver-haired wonder.

"Aren't you married?" Riku asked. If you guessed porn, then you are the winner. Do you get anything?

No.

. . .

-Yoko's Point of View

I sighed as I wrapped a white fluffy towel around me and I looked at my horribly long hair. I searched through the drawers for some scissors and smiled happily when they were found. I cut off about six inches until it was chest length. I looked at it thoughtfully and cut off six more inches then gave myself an A-line cut in the back with longer strands when nearing the front. And trust me, this was no easy feat. When I was done, I dried my now A-line bob cut toe-head hair and smiled.

"I'm so proud of myself." I faked wiping a tear and sniffled. I was sort of glad I didn't have bangs anymore because I could now tuck my hair behind my ears and actually see. Good times. I sniffed my old clothes and my eye twitched from the smell. "Oh God." I choked. I opened the bathroom door, holding my towel securely and looked around. I walked to the main room and saw Riku staring at Cid's computer with utter disgust. I frowned and looked at it nearly gagging myself.

"Jeez, Old man. And I use to respect you." I said getting their attention. They looked at me and Riku raised a brow. "My old clothes smelled like hell." I answered his unvoiced query. He sighed and sat down on the couch placed at the opposite end of the room. "Cid, can I borrow some clothes before I get some new ones?" I asked with as much innocence in my voice as possible. He nodded and stood up leaving the room. I looked at the computer once more and shuddered before pulling the plug. No more porn for you.

He walked back holding a large t-shirt and some basketball shorts. He handed them to me and I smiled leaving the room. I locked the bathroom door as I heard a string of profanities through the walls. I pulled on the clothes and walked out again. Riku smiled at me, amused with what I did and I sat on the bed I was once lying in.

"Your hair looks nice, Yoko." He said. I grinned.

"Thanks. I think it suits me." I responded.

"What suits you is devil horns." Cid muttered trying to recover his precious documents. I rolled my eyes and saw the door open.

"YOKO! We got you new clothes!" Kairi and Mori shouted together. I saw Sora trailing behind them with a look of horror on his face. I frowned.

"Guys, what did you do to Sora?" I asked. They exchanged looks and laughed as Sora grew red.

"We dragged him into the bra store." Moriko said. I sighed.

"You guys are idiots." I stated blandly as I took the shopping bags from them. I headed to the bathroom once again and changed into the new clothes. I now wore dark blue skinny jeans and my vans with a baggy low u-neck long sleeved indigo shirt. My necklace still hung around my neck and walked out.

"So what's been happening?" I asked them. Everyone grew serious and Riku explained to me the situation. Absolutely everything. My eyes widened from shock and my friends waited for a response.

"Oh my God, I think she went into shock." Kairi stated. I slowly blinked and moved my gaze to the ground.

"No I'm fine… It's just, those creatures, Soul Eaters, I saw them when I was in the darkness. And Yamiko… he's been annoying me ever since I arrived in The World That Never Was and saw Mori-chan half-dead." I stated softly.

"Yoko… why didn't you say anything?" Moriko asked me.

I met her eyes, "Because I thought he was a creation of my own mind, not some evil maniac bent on doing something." I responded. "If I did, I would have never let him in control. And now he won't leave." I let out a sigh and ran a hand through my hair. I stood up and the others looked up at me. "I'm gonna go take a walk. I'll be back soon." I said softly, walking to the door. I opened it and paused when Mori said my name.

"Yoko, you need to rest… please?" she asked. I glanced quickly and then looked ahead.

"I need to clear my head." I responded walking out. I focused on the ground in front of me and listened to the noise of my shoes against the stone ground. I walked up the stairs to the Bailey and looked out at the castle I hadn't lived in, in years. I wish it was still completely intact but that was too much to ask for. I looked up at the sinking sun and sat down on the stone wall. The moon rose, full and bright. Clouds swirled together right above where I sat and bright little blue lights float downward toward me. A smile spread on my face when the lights multiplied and came in various colors.

They all formed into one glorious white light, expanded rapidly and went out. I blinked my eyes, readjusting to the sudden burst of light then change to darkness. I looked up at the stars and sighed. All of those were worlds. Worlds that could no longer be in contact with each other. Worlds still struggling with the darkness and evil.

"Yoko?"

I jumped and nearly fell off the wall. A hand steadied me and I turned to see Sora. I let out a sigh of relief and smiled.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked him. He met my eyes. I saw worry etched on his face.

"Are you alright?" he questioned. My smile fell and I looked down at my hands folded on my lap.

"I guess I'm just taking this all rather hardly. I never did do well with bad news." I said cracking a smile. He sat down beside me and scratched the back of his head.

"I know that, but you have us all worried…" Sora trailed off. I raised my head and saw him looking up at the stars. My gaze softened and I let out a heavy breath, staring up at the moon.

"Sora…" I said softly. I paused when he looked at me. I felt like I should tell him I knew about his feelings and that they weren't unrequited, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. "You don't need to worry. I'm fine." I said clearing my throat. He gave me a smile and we left for Merlin's house.

よう子

Okay, so if everyone's confused as to why I'm referring to Yoko's eyes as ice-blue in the flashbacks, it's because it's her original eye color before Yamiko decided to be a bastard. Yamiko has amber eyes and Yoko's eyes being amber means that he's there and him possessing her body with blue eyes means that she's still there somewhere. So yeah.

Reviews and no flames. Flames are mean.

:3

Luka Grimm


	2. Broken Links

Disclaimer: I sadly, do not own Kingdom Hearts.

I sighed as I pulled on my clothes. I brushed out my hair and walked out of the room in Aerith's house I was staying in with Moriko and Kairi. The guys were staying with Leon. We had received another letter from the King saying that the barriers around the worlds had cracks in them and the worlds were drawing closer together. So we decided to go back to the worlds to check things out in the worlds.

We all met at Cid's gummi garage and got into the gummi he made for us. It was a nice model too. Nicer than the one I stole to get to The World That Never Was. When we got inside we all stood staring at the driver's seat. I grinned and Moriko caught the grin.

"NO! You are not driving Yoko." She said. I rushed past her and got in the seat, strapping myself in. Riku and Mori groaned in irritation while Kairi and Sora laughed at me.

"Sit down before you guys fall over." Mori warned as I turned on the engine and flipped on the switches. I checked over the gauges and then lifted it off the ground. The grin of excitement on my face grew as I sped out of the garage into the abyss of space. Once out of the world I stopped and looked back at the others. They were all clutching the seats for dear life.

"Good Lord, I'm not that bad." I said continuing on to the closest world. It looked familiar to me but I couldn't place it. I may have seen something about it from Ansem's research. I drove toward it, expecting like evil heartless ships to come swerving toward us, but nothing came. I guess my friends got lucky. They wouldn't have to face my driving while under attack. I landed in the world and turned off the engine. My companions unbuckled the seat belts as quickly as possible and ran out of the ship. I frowned.

"That's rude." I muttered following them outside. I looked around and gasped in awe. It looked like we were in a Greek styled training arena. Sora and Moriko had smiles of enthusiasm on their faces and I nudged Riku. "What are they so happy about?" I asked. Riku shrugged and Kairi smiled.

"They probably came here on their adventures." She suggested. I shrugged and looked at Kairi for a moment.

. . .

_The small blonde girl ran giddily with her little sister to the castle Ansem had brought them to. They ran through the castle doors and chanted a song furiously as the skipped behind the man who was now their father. He stopped, waiting for them to catch up and smiled widely. "Come along, there's someone who lives here as well I want you to meet." He said to the girls. They looked up at him with large eyes. He held their hands and led them into a large library and could hear an elder woman speaking. _

"_Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light.__Everyone loved the light.__Then people began to fight over it.__They wanted the light for themselves.__And darkness was born in their hearts. The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts.__It covered everything, and the world disappeared.__But small fragments of the light survived... in the hearts of children.__With these fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world.__It's the world we live in now.__But the true light sleeps, deep within the darkness._

"_That's why the worlds are still scattered, divided from each other.__But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open. __And the true light will return.__So, listen, child. __Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be light to guide you. __Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you.__Your heart will shine with its power and push the darkness away.__Do you understand, Kairi?" _

_Ansem and his children walked up to the woman and the young girl. _

"_Madam, Kairi. These are Yoko and Ren. I have taken them in like Ienzo and wish for them to be in your care whenever I am gone from the castle." Ansem said. The old woman bowed._

"_Of course, my lord." She said smiling. The young girl looked at Yoko and grinned toothily putting out her hand._

"_Hi, I'm Kairi."_

"_I'm Yoko."_

. . .

"Yoko…" a voice drew out my name. I jumped out of my skin and looked around. Riku and Kairi were smirking at me with amusement, Moriko was looking with worry, and Sora… I frowned. I looked around.

"Eh, where's the village idiot?" I asked. Riku perked up and looked around.

"Sora?" he called out. I laughed inwardly at the fact he immediately picked up that I meant Sora.

"So~ra!" I sang out. Moriko sighed and face-palmed.

"Where did he go?" Kairi asked. Moriko looked out in the direction of a lobby door and ran for it. I raised a brow and followed her. Riku and Kairi went after me and we arrived in the lobby of the coliseum. I saw Sora talking to a very muscled man and a satyr. I blinked and tilted my head in confusion.

"Hey Herc." Mori greeted the tall scary man. Well, he actually looked more like a dope, but a strong dope who could probably rape me if he wanted.

"Moriko! It's great to see you and Sora again. Did you guys find your friends?" he asked. I smirked and folded my arms across my chest as she smiled and nodded.

"Yep." She answered pointing at me, Riku and Kairi. He looked at us with an "oh" expression and stepped forward. I immediately hid behind Riku and Kairi and stared.

"Hey, I'm Hercules. Sora and Moriko here told me a lot about you guys and how much they missed you. You three have great friends." He said. I sighed with relief that he didn't act like a rapist.

"I'm Kairi." Kairi said introducing herself. He shook her hand and Riku stuck out his hand.

"Riku." He said softly. Hercules looked at me expectantly and I stared up at him with fear.

"I… uh… I'm-I'm Y-Yoko." I stuttered putting out my shaking hand. He smiled and shook it softly.

"It's nice to finally meet you all." He said. Riku nudged my arm smirking. I blushed from nervousness and gave him a death glare.

"Hey Herc, have you seen any Heartless around at all? Or these creepy soul reaper type creatures called Soul Eaters?" Sora asked the large man. Hercules put his hand on his chin and looked deep in thought.

"I don't think so, but you might want to check the Underworld. There's all sorts of things down there." He said slowly. Sora and Mori nodded.

"Thanks Herc. We'll see ya later." Sora said waving his hand. We left the lobby and went to the main gates. There was a doorway with darkness seeping from it. I frowned as we neared it. I felt a sort of draw to that place. I felt like I should be going down there, but I didn't want to. The others noticed my hesitation and looked at me.

"What's wrong Yoko?" Riku asked in a taunting voice. "Scared twice in one day? That's not like you at all." He said with a smirk. I shook my head gazing at the ground.

"That place doesn't feel right." I said. Sora smiled.

"It's fine. We've been down there before. The only person you have to worry about is Hades and we've taken care of him before." Sora said, attempting to reassure me. I shook my head.

"I don't know. I'm getting this really weird feeling." I said softly. Moriko and Kairi both took my hands.

"Don't worry we'll be right there with you." Kairi said with a smile. I sighed and nodded, letting them lead me into the Underworld.

"You have no clue where we're going…" I asked, "do you Sora?" He looked back at me- still clutching Kairi and Mori's hands for dear life- with a small nervous laugh. I deadpanned at him and glanced around the dark tunnel we were in. I kept seeing shadows crawling around the walls. I felt a chill go down my spine and we came across a strange river filled with the souls of people. I gasped and stepped back, as well as Kairi. Riku looked freaked and Sora and Mori, well… they'd probably seen it already.

I peered around Riku- he hunches his back and he's still way too freaking tall- and saw that the path led straight to the river and ended at a small dock. We walked to the end of it and I looked into the murky waters. It held a horrid green glow to it and the souls moaned every time someone looked at them. I stared down at them and felt almost drawn to their calls for help. I saw a young girl with long hair and innocent eyes. She reached out of the water crying. She grabbed my arm.

"Help me Onee-chan!" she screeched. The soul pulled me into the river. I swam back to the surface and coughed.

"Yoko!" Sora shouted. Sora and Riku fished me out of the water and set me down. I gasped in air and shuddered. I felt so cold at the moment. Was it odd to feel cold in Hell? Eh…

"Yoko, what happened?" Mori asked me with worry. I looked up at her and shivered.

"It… it was… Oh God Mori-chan… It was Ren!" I bawled out hugging my knees. She knelt down beside me and sighed.

"Yoko, it wasn't her. Trust me, when Ren died she went to a much better place." She said sternly. "Now come on. We need to find a way across this river." She told me while pulling me to my feet. I nodded slowly, sniffling and wiping my face.

"Guys…" Kairi said, "Look." She pointed out at the river. We all looked the direction and saw a long gondola slowly floating to us. The ferryman wore a cloak similar to that of the Soul Eaters, but he had been human at some point. He had bones for hands. The boat stopped at the dock and the ferryman held out his hand, as if wanting something. We all looked at each other stupidly and it came to me. I remembered learning about this guy from Ienzo. He said something about Hell's ferryman- Charon. Ienzo told me that you have to bribe him for a ride, 'cause he's only supposed to ferry the dead.

I dug into my pockets and found my munny bag. I didn't have much, but I hoped it was enough. I placed the bag gingerly in the skeletal hand and the hand gripped it and stowed it away. Charon gestured to get on and we did so. We looked at all the souls grabbing the sides of the boats that were repelled instantly as the touched it. I felt sorry for them. We arrived at the other side and stepped out of the boat.

I saw the faint glow of fire coming from the other end of the tunnel before us and we walked toward it. We were in what looked like a temple for the gods but torches and snakes littered the place. The very first thing that caught my attention scared me. It was a human man turned to stone with a look of fear and disgust. Realization ran through my mind of who could've had the power to do that. I stopped walking and stared at the ground.

"Yoko?" Kairi asked. The blood froze in my veins and I looked at them.

"Whatever you do, don't look at her face." I said loudly. I heard a seductive laugh echo through the temple in the cave. "We should leave you guys." I hissed.

"Now why would you want to leave Yo~ko." The voice said. Sora and the others went further into the temple and I followed carefully.

"How do you know my name?" I questioned. The voice laughed louder than the last time.

"I know a lot of thingsss…" she hissed. (If you guys haven't gotten who this crazy bitch is supposed to be, than I am ashamed.) I kept my eyes trained on the floor and walked closer to my friends. I shook my head.

"Remember guys, don't look into her eyes!" I called out to them.

"Why?" Sora asked stupidly. I swore in my head.

"Because you'll be turned to stone!" I shouted. The woman giggled maniacally.

"Now now… little girl… No need to get your pantiesss in a bunch." She said. I blushed and glared at the ground.

"Shut up!"

"Show yourself!" Sora demanded. More laughing and then I saw a large snake tail slither in front of me. I looked up slightly and saw a woman's torso attached to it and scales covering her… ahem… boobs.

"You know…" she started, "you can look at my faccce. I'm wearing a blindfold." She said. I narrowed my eyes and the adrenaline pumped through my blood as I touched her face. There was indeed cloth where her eyes should be. I looked up to her face and jumped back at the sight of the snakes in place of her once luscious locks. There was a smirk placed on her face and I sighed.

"Guys, it's safe… ish." I called out, muttering the last part. Riku chuckled and they all came near me, looking at the snake woman suspiciously.

"So… um…" Sora started. "Who are you?" he asked. I face-palmed.

"Really Sora?" I asked. The others looked at me with confusion. "What, you guys never took mythology in freshman year?" I asked. Silence. "This is Medusa." I said blankly. "I learned about her from-" I stopped. Did I really want them to know I worked with the man they all thought was evil? (Remember, she has no clue the man who became her father appeared once more and revealed he was truly a good guy.)

"From who?" Kairi questioned. Mori gave her a pointed look and I frowned when Kairi got a look of understanding.

"You told them?" I questioned lowly. Moriko looked at me and her eyes widened.

"No! Why would I do that?" she asked. I stared into her grey-blue eyes, waiting for her to break, and she did. "Okay, but it's because I was explaining you were from Radiant Garden to them and I couldn't just leave out a big chunk of information!" she defended. I sighed softly and Medusa laughed.

"Ssssome friend ssshe isss." She hissed. I gazed down at the stone floor. My thoughts swirled in torrents of anger and confusion. The realization dawned on me.

"They know…" I murmured. I snapped my gaze up at them. "They know about Ren?" I screamed, my voice resonating with a deeper voice through the temple. A dark purple glow surrounded my body and darkness began gathering overhead. The Soul Eaters appeared and Medusa cackled excitedly. She was having the show of her life. The darkness surrounded my body and my eyes flashed ice blue.

I caught the looks of fear on my friends and froze. "No." I muttered holding my head. I crouched down and cried. "NO! NO! NO!" I screamed.

Everything went silent.

"Yoko-chan." A soft female voice said happily. I opened my eyes and saw myself standing in a meadow of forget-me-nots. Standing away at a distance was a thirteen-year-old girl with large green doe eyes and long golden blonde hair. She wore her hair in an intricate braid and was dressed in a soft blue dress sundress. I stared at the girl with confusion and she smiled sadly. "You don't remember me…" she said. "I can't really blame you. It's been four years. I must look different to you." I paused, looking into her green eyes.

"Ren…" I was used to seeing her as seven or eight years old, but never thirteen. That's how old she'd be then.

"You know Moriko didn't mean to cause you pain. She was trying help. Your friends were worried about your condition last year and she felt that they should know that you were already under too much stress from my death." She told me in a whispery voice. I stared down at the forget-me-nots and sighed.

"I know… but it just hurts so much thinking about that night. And I have that stupid scar to remind me of it every day, that I survived and you didn't. I just can't stand it." I choked feeling pain.

"It's alright that you're alive. I was so relieved to find out you had a second chance Yoko. You can have a live, get married, grow old with someone and have children. I can't, but I can get the happiness from watching you." Ren said softly approaching me. She bent down, caressing the little blue flower and picked one. She stood up and placed the flower in my hair. Ren gave me a soft smile and dissolved into the wind. "Don't forget me Yoko…"

I gasped and was pulled back. I looked around seeing the last of the Soul Eaters disappear into smoke and the room became light again.

"Ah… sssuch power… I haven't seen that kind of power sssinccce Massster Xehanort." Medusa said slithering beside me. I glared at her.

"Xehanort? You knew that bastard?" I asked. She grinned.

"Of course, you and your companionsss aren't the firssst to travel the worldsss. There were the other keyblade massstersss, thossse little punksss. Terra, Aqua and Ventusss." She explained. Moriko gasped with recognition and something sparked in Kairi. I wasn't sure if she remembered everything from Radiant Garden but she did some things. Medusa sensed my curiosity and laughed. "You want to asssk me sssomething… what?" she said.

"Why is this guy taking over me?" I questioned. She smirked.

"A reasssonable quessstion. The one taking over you… the only way he could've been freed isss if one of the puressst sssoulsss wasss exposssed to Kingdom Heartsss at a very young age." She explained. I narrowed my eyes.

"So you're not going to tell me how he was imprisoned?" I asked. She laughed giddily.

"I haven't the ssslightessst clue myssself. You'll have to asssk…" she paused looking over at Moriko with a grin, "her…"

"What the hell did that snake bitch mean by asking Moriko?" Kairi questioned as we got off of Charon's ferry on the other side of the river Styx. Sora shrugged while Mori and I stayed silent.

"Most likely because Mori is the physical embodiment of Kingdom Hearts." Riku said as we made our way through the labyrinth of the Underworld. We got into the gummi ship and- much to my dismay- Riku got in the pilot's seat. I stared out the window and watched the stars as we passed by them.

"Yoko?" I turned my head to see Sora looked at me with worry. "Is something wrong?" he whispered. He was sitting beside me and the others were talking to each other. I shook my head.

"I don't know… It's just what Medusa said. I can't get it out of my head. I have this weird feeling that Xehanort did something to me but I can't remember." I stated softly, fingering the necklace hanging against my shirt.

"You think he's the one who put Yamiko in your head?" Sora questioned leaning closer. I nodded slowly.

"I think, it's still just a hunch but… if he had something he could control me with, it could possibly affect Mori-chan since we're linked. I think I need to ask King Mickey how Yamiko got imprisoned in Kingdom Hearts." I replied quietly.

"Hey guys, we're here." Riku said. I frowned looking around. I blinked twice and deadpanned.

"Um… are we underwater?" I asked. Sora looked at me with a happy expression.

"You'll love this world Yoko. It's really cool." He said. We neared the door and Mori had a frown on her face.

"Sora, who's gonna cast the spell?" she asked. Sora blinked and a serious look grew on his face. It didn't suit him too well. It took a lot of effort not to just laugh out loud at him. I cleared my throat.

"I know the spell." I said firmly. They looked at me.

"How would you know the spell?" Kairi asked. I sighed and rubbed my temples.

"Do we really have to go over this again and risk a repeat of Medusa's temple?" I asked raising a brow. Their eyes widened and they shook their heads. I grinned. I lifted my hands and they glowed a bright blue. "Phasmatis of ordo, sino nos ut servo ex meddling per orbis terrarum quod change nostrum vultus tanquam nos erant civitas of orbis terrarum." Lights surrounded our bodies and then we were under water, outside of the ship. When the spell transported us outside I had been farther away from them, and with good reason too.

I squeaked with embarrassment and hid behind a nearby rock, looking at what I was wearing. Technically I was only wearing a freaking shell bra, but I had I a long thin fish tail. It kind of looked like a longer version of a flying fish's tail but bright crimson red with yellow lining the fins. My shell bra was made of regular clam shells. I'd be okay if I had long hair to cover up with, but sadly I cut my hair. I peeked around the corner of the rock and saw the others looking for me. Moriko had a grey-blue tail and white shell bra, while Kairi had a deep magenta tail and pink starfish for a bra. Riku had an aqua blue tail that turned electric blue near the end. Sora had what looked a shark tail but I couldn't be sure.

"Yo~ko!" Moriko called out. The others echoed her and I hid behind the rock again. It didn't really help that I was also the "smallest" of the girls. I mean hey, I had a decent C-cup but no, other people think that D-cups are small. You know what… why am I telling you this?

"There you are!" a voice exclaimed. I looked up to meet ocean blue eyes and screamed. Sora's smile turned into a frowned and he gave me a worried look. "Are you okay?" he asked. I caught my breath and leaned against the rock.

"Jeez, Sora! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" I asked. He smiled and pulled me out from behind the rock to the others.

"Found her." he said happily. I blushed and laughed nervously, scratching my head.

"Hey guys." I greeted them. Mori noticed my nervousness and grinned. Sora and Riku swam ahead of us on our way to the castle and Kairi and Moriko kept pestering me.

"You like him." Mori said blankly in a hushed voice. I felt the heat rising in my cheeks.

"Do not!" I protested. Kairi giggled and poked my arm.

"You so do."

"And he likes you too~" Moriko sang. I glared at her and tried to swim faster to leave them, but I didn't do too well swimming with a fish tail. They laughed behind me and I pouted. For some reason I felt really relaxed in this world. I thought back to earlier in Radiant Garden and remembered my back had been aching ever since I woke up. I paused and reached for the back of my right shoulder with my left hand and felt that my scar had been re-cut. I frowned and stopped swimming all together.

"Yoko?" Kairi asked. I reached around my waist and found the entire scar had been cut over.

"What happened to my back?" I asked. Moriko looked over at me.

"Oh, when the Soul Eaters first showed up you were bleeding. I assumed something happened before you arrived in Radiant Garden…" she explained. I shook my head.

"Yeah, that's probably it." I said softly as we continued swimming. We arrived at the castle and I looked up at the merman (ah that sounds funny to me) sitting in the throne. He almost scared me. But a lot of high authority people freak me out.

"Hi your majesty." Sora piped up smiling like the adorable doofus he is. The man nodded his head.

"Hello young Key-bearer. I see you found your companions." he said. Sora nodded eagerly and Moriko smiled.

"Yep. Um… so King Triton. Have you seen any Heartless or these creatures called Soul Eaters? They wear tattered cloaks." Sora asked hopefully. King Triton stroked his beard thoughtfully and frowned.

"Why actually, just the other day I saw a creature just as you described." He said. "Of course I took action against it, but something seemed off about it." Sora nodded and then we left the castle. If those creatures were here, how come we didn't run into any?

Apparently the universe hates me, because the moment I thought of that, a group of them showed up. I sighed. "I'm screwed." I muttered. I was the only one without a weapon. The **only** one. Even Kairi has a keyblade. Sora glanced back at me and he finally got what I mean.

"Yoko! Go hide!" Sora shouted. I pouted. Well that's unfair. I have to go hide. I scoffed and swam away, hiding in a little cave. I sighed and leaned my back against the wall of the cave. I heard something swimming toward me and I saw Riku appear in front of the cave.

"Hey," he said with a smile, "we got them." He said. I smiled and nodded. _Now I know why Mori-chan likes him so much… He's friggin' perfect._ I mused swimming out with him. I saw the others talking about most likely the Soul Eaters.

"You okay?" Sora asked me. I saw worry in his eyes and I nodded smiling.

"Yeah, when we leave, we need to go to Radiant Garden for me to get a weapon before I die out here." I said partly joking. Sora didn't like my comment and gave me a pointed look. I laughed nervously and looked away. "Sorry…" I added as we began swimming around. I racked my brain for something and paused.

"Wait, what are we exactly supposed to do? Because you already sealed the keyholes and gates, so what else is there?" I questioned. Moriko looked at me and blinked.

"Oh you're right. It's like we have no information about what to do." she said.

"And it's not like Medusa told us anything." Kairi added.

"Oh she told us something alright. Just not something we needed to hear." I muttered. Sora glanced at me and I met his gaze before looking away quickly.

"Maybe it'd be good to go back to Radiant Garden first and see if Merlin knows anything." Riku suggested.

"Yeah." Sora said nodding. We headed to the gummi ship and Riku beat me to the pilot's seat again. I sat down in the other seat and pouted. Sora caught my look and laughed.

"You really think we're gonna let you drive ever again?" he asked. I stuck out my tongue and looked out the window as we headed to Radiant Garden. We landed and I got off the ship. Okay, first… weapon. Second, check out creepy castle ruins and try to find information on Xehanort. _Yeah… good luck with that._ I told myself. Third, try and contact King Mickey to see if he knows anything. I walked to Leon's house and knocked on the door. He opened it and looked at me with surprise.

"Yoko? What are you doing here?" he asked. I smiled.

"Can't I see my best friend's cousin?" I asked. He raised a brow. I sighed in defeat. "I need a weapon before I die out there." I said. He chuckled.

"I'd love to help you out, but I don't have any extra weapons. And I doubt the others do either. You could always ask Merlin though." He responded. I sighed.

"Thanks Squall. Bye." I muttered walking away.

"It's Leon." He grumbled closing the door. I smirked, happy to get that reaction from him. I walked boredly through the Bailey past the Postern toward the castle looming over the small town. I let out a soft sigh and looked up at the once beautiful castle. All the machinery running around and through it ruined the architecture. Such a horrible waste. I entered the entrance hall and looked around the rooms. I passed by a mahogany door that seemed familiar and pushed it open, revealing a child's room filled with pictures and animal plushes. I smiled.

"This is my room…" I murmured. Then it hit me like a bullet.

"_Leave me alone you big bully!" Yoko screamed at the white haired man pulling her through the halls of the castle. He led her into the Grand Hall where the machines hooked up to a keyhole. He held out an intricate necklace up and it glowed a bright blue. The light engulfed the room until it turned a sickly purple and dark smoky tendrils of darkness began seeping from the keyhole. There was another quick flash of light and they were no longer in Radiant Garden. They stood in a strange room where there was water and little stones platforms floating on it. At the end of the room stood a strange looking man. He wore jeans and a white long sleeved shirt, shoeless and had electric blue hair and amber eyes. _

"_I have brought you a vessel as you instructed." The white haired man said from beside Yoko. She looked up at him with wide ice-blue eyes and then at the other man when he laughed._

"_Bravo, Xehanort. I didn't think you'd bring the right girl. She has the perfect heart for me to invade." He said with drool dribbling down his chin. Yoko shivered involuntarily and then the man appeared right before her, his left index finger touching her forehead. A bright blue light shone from her body before turning into black flames. Then she was out like a light and the man was gone._

_Another light appeared and the white haired man and Yoko were back in the Grand Hall. Yoko stood up and looked at Xehanort with cold amber eyes, replacing her original blue ones, and a devious smirk._

"_Again, I am pleased Xehanort._

"_Then give me command of Kingdom Hearts, like we agreed." Xehanort demanded. The man using Yoko's body chuckled._

"_Sorry, but only this girl and the physical embodiment of Kingdom Hearts have the power to access it." he replied with a grin before vanishing from sight._

I was pulled back with a gasp of air and my amber eyes were wide. _That bastard! I only wished I had killed him before Sora did twice._ I grumbled in my head closing the door to my old bedroom. _Well, now I know what Xehanort did to give Yamiko control of me._ I left the castle and headed for the Borough. I let out a sigh and passed by the Postern, entering the Bailey. I made it to the Borough to see my friends standing in a little circle. I raised a brow.

"Did you guys find anything out?" I queried. Sora's face brightened up.

"Yep, the king came here and said we just seal the keyholes like last time… but…" Sora trailed off looking pissed. "He said I need a different keyblade. One used by some keyblade master, but he doesn't know where it is." I frowned.

"Well that sucks. Maybe we'll find it in a different world?" I suggested. Then it hit me, I missed the king. _Urgh! I wanted to ask him something…_ I frowned.

"Everything okay Yoko?" Riku asked. I raised my head, seeming perfectly okay.

"Huh? Oh… I wanted to ask Mickey how Yamiko got put in Kingdom Hearts in the first place. And~ I learned how he got released and put in my head." I said.

"How?" Kairi asked.

"I regained a memory and it was of Xehanort taking me to the castle… and then there were these lights… and Yamiko appeared, then invaded my mind." I finished. "It was kinda creepy from my point of view." I stated. Moriko seemed deep in thought.

"Hm… now I know why we wanted to kill the bastard so much." She stated. I smiled and shook my head.

"Whatever, let's just go and find that keyblade." I said with a large grin. Sora and Riku nodded. I looked to Kairi and she looked hesitant. "What's up?"

She met my gaze and smiled serenely. "I think I'll stay here in Radiant Garden, visit the castle, see if I can regain any of my memories. I'm not really used to the whole travel thing anyway." She said. Mori and I gave her a look and Sora shrugged.

"Okay, you sure you'll be alright here?" I questioned. Kairi nodded.

"I'll be fine. I'll hang out with Yuffie; she's kinda like an older, hyper version of Selphie." Kairi explained. I smiled and nodded.

"Bye then." Moriko stated. And with that we left Radiant Garden once again.

"So which world now?" Riku asked. Sora looked at the screen in front of him- he was now in the pilot's seat- and saw one world floating in front of him.

"I think it's Halloween Town. I can't be sure until we land." Sora answered. Moriko grinned. I glanced at her.

"You seem happy…" I frowned. "Okay, what's up with this world Mori?" I asked her. She giggled.

"Halloween Town, Yoko." She said plainly.

"Oh." I said. "Oooh." I repeated in understanding a moment later. She did a Riku smirk and I rolled my eyes. The ship swerved, causing me to lose my train of thought and my head lolled- my eyes starry-eyed.

"What's going on?" Riku called out. Sora turned the ship a bit, out of the way of a non-attacking Heartless ship. Non-attacking? There were many Heartless ships leaving the world in a hurry and quite scared seeming. I frowned.

"The Heartless are afraid…" Moriko said voicing my thoughts.

"That can't be a good sign." Sora said veering around another frantic Heartless ship. He landed on the world and we exited the ship. I gazed around feeling a chill go down my spine. All that I could really see were outlines, but then everything cleared up. I frowned and looked at my friends, nearly screaming when I saw Riku. He was wrapped in gauze and wearing jeans. I couldn't see his face, except his red eyes were visible. I looked at Moriko and saw she was… well I had no clue what she was. Sora was a vampire, but that seemed kind of like an oxymoron considering he's nothing close to scary, even with fangs.

I looked down at myself and saw I was wearing a black nightgown type dress and no shoes. I felt weird though… like I wasn't even touching the ground. Mori stared at me with an excited grin.

"Dude! You have wings!" she exclaimed. My eyes widened. I looked over my back and indeed there were. Large black, feathery wings. But they were bound. No flying for me…

"So where do we go-" I paused. I didn't see Sora anymore. "Where's Bloody Boy?" I asked. We looked around and Mori deadpanned.

"Great. Sora!" she shouted.

"Yeah?" We screamed in unison and turned around to see Sora standing in the entrance of a forest. I blinked and stared at the foreboding woods. I crossed my arms across my chest in protest.

"No, there's no way in Hell I'm going in that dark forest." I stated staring him down. He pouted.

"Why not? It's perfectly safe! I just checked." He whined. I looked off to the side, my arms still crossed.

"I don't do well in the dark…" I answered quietly. Sora's face lit up.

"Don't worry. I'll be there." He said taking my hand and pulling me into the forest. Riku and Mori snickered behind me and I felt the heart rising to my face. "Are you alright? Do you have a fever?" Sora asked me. I shook my head.

"I'm fine!" I said quickly as he continued dragging me through the woods. We arrived in a sort of clearing where the moon shone brightly and pictures on trees lit up. One had a heart, another with a turkey, Easter egg, clover, flag, and Christmas tree. I raised a brow and Moriko had a look of understanding on her face.

"Now I know where he's taking us." She said. I gazed over my shoulder at her and she smiled before mouthing "you'll see". I pouted. We stopped before the Christmas door and Sora opened it. The tree was hollow and deep. My eyes widened when Sora made a motion to go in it. I pulled back.

"Nuh-uh, this is where I draw the line Sora. I'm not jumping into some hollow tree that goes down." I stated firmly. He sighed and yanked me closer, holding me tightly and jumped in before Riku and Moriko could say anything or laugh. I screamed as we fell at an alarming speed and for some reason Sora was acting as if it were a roller coaster. We reached the end and slid out landing in something frozen and wet. I looked up and saw we were surrounded by snow. I raised a brow and looked for Sora. Then I looked down seeing Sora's bright red face an inch from mine. I jumped back as though he were a leper and felt myself become a tomato.

"So where are we?" I asked looking at Riku and Mori who had just arrived. Thank God they didn't see that.

"Yuletide Hill." Moriko answered. I frowned.

"And that is…?" I asked gesturing for her to elaborate. She smiled.

"You'll see." She sang as she and Sora skipped ahead. I face-palmed before looking up at mummy-boy.

"Shall we?" I asked with exasperation. He smirked under the gauze and we followed our friends.

"So…" Riku started still looking ahead. I raised my head to glance at him. "You and Sora seem pretty close now." He said. I felt blood rush to my cheeks again and I looked ahead.

"I d-don't know w-what you're talking about." I stuttered staring straight ahead. I caught what looked like a grin to me from the corner of my eyes and glared. "Shut-up Riku." I muttered. He laughed and we finally caught up with Sora and Mori. Then I saw Christmas lights and red buildings. I blinked.

"Again… where are we?" I asked Moriko. She sighed.

"You're more oblivious than Sora." She stated. Sora and I pouted at her comment as we neared a small red house. Sora opened the door happily revealing a short fat man wearing red. I stared, unblinking with no emotion as Sora caught his attention and pointed at Riku accusingly.

"I told you Santa exists!" Sora exclaimed. I blinked once and the man looked at me.

"Ah Yoko and Riku. You two stopped believing in me." he said raising his index finger and waggling it. I blinked again.

"I never did believe, you should know." I stated. "I switched families too many times to have any traditions." I stated. "My birth parents were hard Catholics so they didn't do the Santa thing. Then Ansem, he was too busy for Christmas, so it was me and my sister, then my adoptive parents- they were atheists." I explained. "So you can't really blame me." I added. Santa laughed smiling widely.

"That's why I'm giving us this." He said holding out a small square gray box with a black bow. I blinked and Sora pouted.

"Hey, how come I don't get a gift?" he whined. I glanced at him and grinned.

"Because you believed in me at one point then decided to stop because of peer pressure." Santa said. Sora huffed as I undid the bow and took off the lid. There was a glowing yellow katana hilt and decorated guard. I picked up the hilt and it glowed a bright yellow, as did my necklace. The pendant changed shape and became a metal heart- like the Kingdom Hearts insignia- with the sapphire still in the center and dissolved into the hilt as a blade formed. But I recognized it. It was a gunmetal grey keyblade shaped as a regular skeleton key with its teeth formed as an "E" and the keychain was my necklace. I frowned.

"That's it! That's the keyblade the King told us to use!" Sora exclaimed pointing at the weapon in my hand. "Wait- when did you inherit a keyblade?" he asked me. My frown deepened.

"I… I don't know." I answered.

Ta-da! Read and Review! Love opinions. No flames.

~Luka Grimm


	3. Strings Tied

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts… :(

_I walked through the halls of the castle boredly with Ren by my side and an idea struck. I grinned mischievously and took Ren's hand, putting a finger to my lips. She nodded and I took us round through the secret passage way in the library to the main gates. We made it to the Bailey and I smiled happily. "Let's go see Leon and Mori-chan!" I said. Ren nodded and we skipped along merrily to the Borough. I turned a corner and hit a dead end. "Hm… I was sure it was this way… Guess not." I shrugged and led us another way. _

_I paused upon seeing a man with a short black beard and mustache holding a rather odd looking sword. It reminded me of Aqua's- who saved me earlier from an Unversed. The man with the ponytail looked at us and walked over._

"_Excuse me young ones, but have you seen a girl with blue hair or a man with brown hair and blue eyes?" he asked politely, crouching down to our level. I put an index finger to my chin and thought carefully. Aqua has blue hair doesn't she? I nodded._

"_There's Aqua. But the last time I saw her around here was a few days ago." I stated. The man's face fell when I said this._

"_And the man?"_

"_Nope. I haven't seen a guy like that around here. Sorry mister." I apologized. He smiled sadly._

"_It's quite alright." He answered. "My name is Eraqus. Do you perchance live with Ansem?" he asked. Ren and I nodded enthusiastically._

"_I'm Yoko and this is Ren. Mister Eraqus, why are you looking for Aqua?" I questioned. He smiled and stood up._

"_It seems my students haven't reported in and I needed to see how they were faring." Eraqus answered. Then out of nowhere these creatures appeared. The man grew serious. "Wretched things." He muttered. He looked at us and spoke. "Stay close to me." he ordered. We happily obliged as he killed off the strange monsters. When finished, he seemed out of breath. He chuckled and looked me in the eyes._

"_You have marvelous blue eyes Yoko, you know that?" I nodded wordlessly. "Touch the handle of my blade." He directed. I did so and a light blue light surrounded us. "Now when I die, you'll inherit my keyblade. I did this to protect you. I think you can handle it. Your heart is so pure." He explained with a smile. He stood up and I blinked owlishly. He had completely confused me, but he knew I'd figure it out later. Then he left._

"_Well that was weird." I stated looking at Ren, who was nodding._

. . .

I looked around with a jolt and remembered we had boarded the gummi-ship after I sealed the keyhole in Halloween Town. It was odd, since I've never done it before, but I felt like I'd done it a million times. I was now sitting in a passenger's seat beside Riku, staring at the blade in my hands.

"Do you know its name?" Riku asked me. I looked at him and shook my head.

"No, not like it really matters, does it?" I queried. He shrugged as the ship landed in a new world. We stood and walked outside. I could actually see in this world, but I probably wouldn't after sunset. We were standing on an island made of ships. Totally trippy. "Where are we now?" I asked. Sora grinned.

"Port Royale." He answered. "There's pirates in this world." He said excitedly. Moriko sighed.

"He wants to be a pirate really badly. It's pathetic." She stated. I giggled at Sora's expression from Mori's comment and looked around. It seemed like a nice enough place, except for the part where there's alcoholic rapist pirates living there. I sighed and walked inside the strange structure. We weaved our way through the place, acting as if we belonged there, though it was hard considering we had the weirdest looking clothes to them. I sighed.

"I'm gonna cast a blending spell again, kay?" I didn't wait for their responses. "Phasmatis of ordo, sino nos ut servo ex meddling per orbis terrarum quod change nostrum vultus tanquam nos erant civitas of orbis terrarum." The familiar light surrounded us and we looked like pirates now. I'm not really gonna describe our clothing since it would take way too long. We headed to the top and came upon a strange gathering of sorts. All pirates. Sora seemed to know three of them.

"Jack!" Sora greeted him. Said pirate turned his head and saw us.

"Oh, Zola, I didn't think I'd be seeing you anytime soon. Especially with another girl as well." He said. _Did he call Sora "Zola"?_

"Sparrow, ignore the damn twerps and cast your vote!" (Wow, he's Ryan Seacrest!)

"Elizabeth Swan." He said causing the other pirates to gasp, even said girl. I looked at him and smirked. Cool, female on top. Everyone began fighting and we kind of just backed away and watched them. It was actually sort of amusing. Soon the other pirates left and Sora walked up to Jack.

"Jack, why is Barbossa here?" he asked quietly.

"Because he's helping us get rid of bigger baddies." The pirate answered as though it were obvious. "And it seems you finally found yourself a girl, mate. And might I say she's quite the looker." He whispered back. I raised a brow and gave the pirate the worst possible glare I could muster up, causing his eyes to widen. He looked away and cleared his throat. "Well Zola, will you be helping as well?" he asked.

"It's Sora, and sure. Why not?" Sora agreed willingly. I sighed and smacked Sora's head.

"Making a deal with a pirate is as bad as selling your soul to the devil." I scolded him. He smiled sheepishly.

"Oh yeah, she's a keeper." Jack said walking away to Mori and Riku. I glared at him, then at Sora.

"I know we need to find the keyhole, but we can't help them. It's meddling and we could possibly be killed!" I whisper-shouted at him. He gave me the puppy eyes and spoke.

"I'm sorry, but Jack's a good friend."

"He's a pirate. They don't have friends. And to top it off, they're filthy liars and frauds." I spat.

"Okay, that was a bit harsh, don't ya think?" Sparrow butted in from behind us. I gave him the glare again and he looked away, shutting up. Sora continued to give me the puppy dog eyes and I sighed.

"We can help, but if any of us get hurt, we're leaving." I said caving. He smiled in victory and skipped over to Jack.

"What's next Captain?" he exclaimed. _One day… I'm gonna murder that boy._ I thought maliciously.

"Holy shit!" Moriko screamed as Tia Dalma grew twenty times in height and size. Barbossa said something to her and she screamed with fury. I covered my ears and crouched down as things fell around us. I looked down and saw little crabs crawling to the sides of the ship into the ocean. The ship rocked over sharply and we looked over the edge to see a maelstrom forming. My eyes widened and I looked up at Sora.

"We need to leave!" I shouted at him over the wind. Sora glanced at me then back at the whirlpool we were being pulled into.

"How? We just have to pull through!" he called back. I climbed up the rope net to him and overlooked the battle going over each ship as we slowly went round and round.

"And how do you suppose we do that while we're sailing to our friggin death?" I growled. Our eyes locked for a moment and then Sora shook his head.

"I don't know." He answered. I suddenly felt like impending doom and rushed past the frantic pirates to the hold below. I rummaged through everything and picked up a bottle of rum. Pulling off the cork I took a long swig and sighed in relief.

"Yoko!" Mori's voice shouted above me. I looked up to see her walking down. She gazed at me and gave me an expression of disappointment. "You're drinking?" she asked me. I met her grey-blue eyes and smiled taking another swig.

"Yep! Because nothing says 'impending doom' like a little rum!" I replied cheerfully, walking up the stairs with a sway. I giggled, feeling disoriented, and stumbled over to the side of the ship.

"Du~de, the ugly ship sank and cameback! That's soawesome!" I stumbled over my words, causing them to slur together. I grinned at Sora and waved goofily as another ship in the background blew up. I turned and gasped looking at it with wide eyes. "Holy cow! It blew up!" I shouted. "WOOOOO!" I screamed. The whirlpool disappeared and I gasped in wonder as a giant keyhole appeared in the ocean. "So pretty!" I breathed out. The keyblade appeared in my hands and I clumsily held it at the ocean, sealing the keyhole. Sora looked at me with confusion, then noticed the bottle in my hands. He sighed and Jack walked up to us.

"Rum?" he asked Sora. Sora nodded

"Rum." He answered. I grinned and took another drink. Moriko snatched the bottle from me and threw it off the boat. I pouted.

"Awe… but it was so yummy…" I whined. She gave me a hard glare and pointed at the cabin's door.

"In the cabin and stay there!" she commanded. I sighed.

"Fine." I muttered stalking to the cabin. I walked inside and sat down in a chair while staring at the ceiling. I felt dizzy, but a good kind of dizzy. I giggled and saw Sora enter the room.

"Good lord Yoko. Why'd you drink rum?" he asked me. I blinked owlishly.

"'Why not' is the question, love." I replied, causing him to blush. I smiled brightly then felt drowsy. I leaned my head back and sighed contently, letting sleep overtake me peacefully for the first time in weeks.

. . .

I groaned, feeling a horrible pain in my head. I cracked open one eye and winced at the lights. I opened them both, squinting to see Moriko smirking at me from across the room. I then noticed we were inside Aerith's house. I sighed and leaned back against the chair I was in, listening tiredly to its breathing and heartbeat. I snuggled into it and smiled. Snickering brought me back to reality and I realized chairs don't breathe or have heartbeats. I jumped up and turned to see I was sitting on a sleeping Sora's lap.

I shrieked from shocked and, sadly, that woke up Sora. He jumped from shock and knocked us over. Sora collapsed on me and I looked up at him with probably the reddest face in history. Not to mention we were in a compromising position. Our eyes locked for a moment and he smiled at me sweetly.

"Hey, I was worried you wouldn't wake up." he said happily. I blinked and glanced at Riku, whom had just entered the room. He and Moriko were laughing at me. If even possible, my face grew brighter. Sora looked from them to me with confusion and then realized the fact he had me pinned to the floor.

"GAH!" he shouted falling backward, off of me. "I'm sorry!" he cried. I let out a weak laugh.

"It was an accident." I said before giving Riku and Mori the worst glare on earth. If looks could kill… well actually she would've been dead years ago. He quickly got to his feet and helped me up. We stood in silence awkwardly.

"Would you two just admit you like each other already? Seriously!" Moriko shouted with absolute frustration. My eyes widened and I looked at her, my jaw agape. What amused her and Riku was, Sora and I had the same look. Open jaws, wide eyes and red cheeks.

"Shut up Mori!" I squeaked. Sora just stared at the floor with sudden interest.

"Guys, is everything alright?" Aerith called from the doorway. We all looked over at her and she noticed that we had odd looks on our faces. She gazed at us a moment longer and sighed. "I'll go tell Leon you're awake. Try not to break anything." She told us before closing the door. The front door shut after that and I met Moriko's eyes. She looked amused, frightened and exasperated. I turned my gaze to Riku for a moment and saw him smirking at Sora, and then I looked to Sora. He had a blush as bad as my own and was looking at us all nervously- never one person for more than three seconds.

I let out a sigh and ran out behind Aerith. Instead of heading to the Borough, I headed to the Postern. I ran inside Ansem's study and looked around. My eyes stopped on the portrait of Xehanort on the wall. Anger flared up inside me and I picked up a hard object before chucking it at the man's face. Glass broke against the painting and put a few tears in the paper. That guy royally screwed my life. I moved toward the study's chair and plopped myself down. I leaned back and closed my eyes, trying to ignore the headache creeping over my mind.

"**Why hello Yoko. I haven't seen you in a while. How's lover boy?**" Yamiko asked with his usual grin. I rolled my eyes.

"Leave me alone you bastard."

"**Awe. I thought you liked me. I know Xehanort did.**" He responded. I hissed.

"Why did that bastard use me? What's so special about my heart!" I demanded. He chuckled.

"**I had a feeling you'd ask about that. Your heart is pure. There's no doubting that. But there was something missing in your heart that made it vulnerable to invade.**"

"Oh, and what's that?" I mocked.

"**Unconditional love. Sure, you had Ren. But she was too young to understand the true aspects of love. You had your parents but they died. You had Ansem, but you rarely saw him. You've never experienced someone putting their life on the line for you. That's what's missing. You love unconditionally, but you need it in return. It's a shame you'll never get it.**" he laughed. I growled and snapped open my eyes, rubbing my temples.

"What did I do to get this damn headache?" I murmured. Then it hit me. "Oh yeah… rum." I stated.

"Yoko!" Kairi's voice rang out. I looked at the doorway and saw her standing there. "Everyone told me to get you. You guys are heading out again." She explained. I nodded and stood up from the chair. We walked out to the others, who were at the gummi ship, and I noticed Moriko and Riku standing with Leon and the others. I raised a brow. Mori caught my confusion and grinned as Kairi pushed me toward the open cockpit door.

"Oh right, me and Riku are gonna sit this trip out to help Leon and everyone here. You and Sora can handle everything alone." She stated nonchalantly. I gave her a nasty glare and she returned it by sticking out her tongue and pulling down on her left eyelid. I sighed.

"Fine." I muttered walking up the ramp, dragging a bemused Sora behind me. The door shut and we sat in the seats. "So where to?" I asked. Sora shrugged and we left Radiant Garden.

I sighed leaning back into the seat and glanced at Sora. He seemed on edge to me. "Sora?" I asked. He looked over at me.

"Yeah?" was his almost non-existent response.

"Are you alright? You seem out of it." I stated. He gave me his signature goofy smile and spoke.

"I'm fine. I was just thinking about that Yamiko guy… How are we supposed to get rid of him?" I froze, letting what he said sink in.

"Oh my God… I haven't even thought about that… My guess would be that he's like a parasite…" I said trailing off.

"So you're saying we'd have to kill you?" he asked with disbelief and worry. I shrugged.

"That might have to be a last resort." I stated softly while looking at my hands.

"What?" Sora shouted. I jumped at the volume of his voice. I met his gaze and cringed at his smoldering eyes. "We would never kill you as a last resort! So don't even think about things like that!" he scolded. I smiled.

"Thanks Sora… I think we should be going…" I said changing the topic. He grinned and nodded. We left for a world that was all too familiar for me… Neverland. Damn Hook. I hated that guy. He had wanted to kill off Sora. We landed on a beach on a small island where his ship was anchored. There were long boats on the shore, so I assumed Hook was here. The moment I stepped out of the ship I was surrounded by pirate minions. "Holy mother of God!" I shouted cringing away at seeing the swords. Sora followed me and mimicked my actions, also surprised.

"Well, looky here. It seems we've caught some codfish Mr. Smee." Hook said. He peered at our faces. "And we know these two. Yes, they're the ones who foiled my plans and killed Maleficent." He stated. I narrowed my eyes at him and he laughed. "Throw 'em in the brig!" he commanded. Just as one stinky pirate reached for my arm an arrow pierced his heart. He tumbled over and then the others ran away seeing a rainstorm of arrows flying toward them.

"Retreat!" Hook shouted. They all fell back and a girl leapt from the trees, landing before us. She smiled widely.

"That'll teach them." She stated. I raised a brow.

"Who're you?" I asked, now filled with curiosity. She looked at me with her chocolate brown eyes and tucked a piece of her black hair behind her right ear.

"I'm Aoi. I'm a vigilante." She stated grinning ear to ear, holding out her hand. Sora deadpanned.

"If you're a vigilante, why'd you tell us if it's illegal." He asked. I gasped.

"It's illegal?"

"And I thought I was the dense one."

"You **are** the dense one Sora." I retorted. Aoi laughed at our dispute and pulled back her hand.

"I've just been trying to keep the Heartless, Nobody and Soul Eater population growth in check. Don't want them breeding into numerous amounts." She laughed. I raised a brow.

"Alright then." I stated not completely understanding this Aoi character. Sora sighed and looked around for a moment before returning to Aoi's previous statement.

"Wait, you're not from this world then?"

"Nope, I'm from Radiant Garden." She responded. I made a low guttural laugh. **Everyone's** from Radiant Garden. I find it kind of amusing. Aoi smiled brushing off her pants. "So you guys are from another world as well?"

"Yeah, Destiny Islands." I stated. Sora smiled at me. I guess he was happy I didn't refer to Radiant Garden as my home.

"Oh, I've never been. What's it like?"

"It beautiful. Nice sandy beaches, blue ocean, bright plants. Everyone's nice there too." Sora responded. We stood in silence for a few moments and then I paused.

"Wait, we should go somewhere before those damn pirates come back." I stated. Sora and Aoi nodded and we left after cloaking the gummi-ship. And into the forest we went. I tripped over various roots and rocks on the way and we came upon a tree-house of some sorts. Several male children climbed in the trees, swung from vines, and rushed past us. Aoi did some weird sort of whistle and the kids bustled about even faster than before and a boy in green tights appeared.

I raised a brow when Sora seemed to recognize him and waved enthusiastically. "Sora, you know this fruit?" I asked under my breath. Sora gave me a look and shook his head.

"He's the one who helped us get out of Hook's hold to find you and Kairi. You never met him because you fell unconscious." Sora explained. I folded my arms across my chest and huffed.

"Well." I scoffed. Sora smirked and nudged my side.

"Leave him alone, he helped us out a lot." He scolded. I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever, here he comes."

"Hey Pan." Aoi greeted the fruit. He smiled and saluted her.

"Aoi, my favorite vigilante. And Sora! I haven't seen you in forever. But you're not Moriko…" the fruit said stopping at me. I raised a brow and gave him a look while Sora laughed.

"This is Yoko; she's one of the friends I was looking for when I met you." Sora stated.

"Oh! Peter Pan." He said bowing. I blinked and nodded my head.

"Nice to meet you Pan." I responded as nicely as I could. He nodded and looked at the kids gathered around us.

"Alright Lost Boys, get back to your stations! Hook is upon us!" he called. I made a look of discomfort.

"Great, Hook again." I muttered. Aoi laughed at my expression.

"You know you guys could just leave. I have things under control here. Hook's not much of a concern." Sora nodded.

"Alright, but before we go. Have you seen any creatures that are human sized with a withered decayed body and wearing a black hooded cloak?" he asked them. Pan and Aoi had faces of disgust.

"No, I haven't seen any. You Aoi?"

"Nope. Sorry guys." Aoi apologized.

"No problem. We'll see ya around." Sora stated lifting a hand in farewell. I threw a goodbye over my shoulder and we boarded our gummi-ship.

"Maybe this means Yamiko's weakening?" I suggested, taking my seat beside the pilot's seat. Sora shrugged.

"Either way, we shouldn't take this guy too lightly." Sora added. I sighed in agreement and we left the world. There was an incessant beeping noise and I searched for the source, failing miserably. Sora laughed at me and hit the big red button that screamed: "DO NOT TOUCH" to me. Riku's face appeared on the windshield screen and I fell off my chair in fright.

"HOLY SHIT RIKU! DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!" I shouted from the floor. I heard giggles from behind his enormous face and he smirked.

"It's good to see you too, Yoko." He teased. I sat in the seat again looking away, fuming. "Sora, we need you back here. There's a new world on the radar that we researched. You need to see it." he explained. Soon I saw him get pushed out of the monitor's view and Moriko replaced his face.

"Have you two confessed your lo-" I hit the big red button, effectively cutting her off. Sora looked at me with bemusement and I laughed nervously.

"I don't trust her words." I stated looking ahead. "Let's go." He smiled and we headed back to Radiant Garden.

. . .

"So what's this new world?" Sora asked. Riku sighed.

"It seems this place is called the Keyblade Graveyard. I learned from his majesty that there had been a keyblade war there not long ago. People rarely go there and he set up an activity scanner there. It seems that Soul Eaters have been gathering there for the past month or so." I blinked.

"So…?"

"So, I'm guessing something big is going to happen there." He retorted, shutting me up. I pouted and looked away.

"In other words, we're going there to check it out." Kairi stated.

"And we're all going." Moriko added. I blinked.

"Fine, let's go then. I want to get this over with." I murmured walking outside. I sulked over to the Bailey and leaned against the wall, looking over at Villain's Vale from my shoulder.

"Yoko?" Kairi's voice came from behind me. "Are you alright?" she asked. I smiled softly and nodded.

"Yeah. I've just got this feeling that something really bad is going to happen soon. And I don't want to linger anywhere they may be danger for too long." I whispered fingering my different shaped necklace. It brought an odd sense of relief to me, but not for long. Kairi sighed and sat down on the wall beside me.

"You know that we can take care of ourselves. And you have Sora there to help you-"

"That's the problem!" I cut her off. She looked at me with wide eyes. My expression softened and tears moistened my eyes. "I don't want him to be hurt because of me…" I sobbed. She let out a sigh and brought me into a side hug.

"It'll be alright. Riku wouldn't let his best friend get hurt on his life. So you can believe in Riku. And Moriko would do anything to keep you happy." She said wiping my tears. "Now put a smile on your face and let's go check out that world." I smiled and nodded standing up.

. . .

I swept my gaze across the devastated world. It was barren and Keyblades littered the entire area. It looked absolutely horrid. We walked around not seeing a single Soul Eater, but felt the presence. I saw smoky tendrils creeping along the ground. I stepped away from one that was coiling around my left leg, shaking it off. "I don't like it here." I stated plainly. Riku smirked.

"You scared?"

I looked him in the eyes. "Yes." There was a silence. I felt the wind tug at my hair softly and whispers filled my ears.

"_Behold... These lifeless keys used to be full of power—united with the hearts of their masters. On this barren soil, Keyblades of light and darkness were locked in combat...as a great Keyblade War raged.__"_

A large dark smoky portal, that was 15 meters in diameter, appeared above our heads, Soul Eaters pouring out and surrounding us. I summoned my keyblade and heard a different voice. It sounded like Eraqus.

_The "Mark of Mastery"…_

I looked down at my skeleton key keyblade. The one I inherited from Eraqus himself without even knowing. The Soul eaters began approaching us and I took my fighting stance. Sora looked at me with worry and I smiled reassuringly. I slashed through the creatures easily. They didn't even try to attack me. Well, it could do with the fact that my mind contains their master. Hm… works to my advantage. I held out Mark of Mastery with both hands in front of me and a blue fire engulfed the tip of the key teeth. Then my entire body as I burned the creatures to a crisp.

I charged at one about to hit Kairi and it fell away covered in the blue flames. She sent me a look of thanks and I nodded to her. I heard Yamiko laughing at me inside my head. I frowned and appeared before him.

"What's so funny?" I spat. He grinned.

"**You're actually trying to fight me. It's not going to work.**" He stated. I rolled my eyes.

"That's what you think."

"**Oh?**" he asked grinning. I felt a horrible pain as he stabbed me through my right shoulder. I cringed in pain and returned to the outside world grasping my shoulder. Blood seeped through my shirt. My appearance flickered between that of Yamiko's and mine own. Then I felt as though someone walked out of my body and I fell back, lying in the dirt. I groaned in pain and heard the familiar laugh.

"What's wrong Yoko? Cat got yer tongue?" he asked. I snapped open my eyes and sat up to see Yamiko standing before me.

"Oh my God."

Alright, getting close to the end. One more chapter. Please review my sad little story. But no flames. Flames will only hurt my feelings.

~Luka Grimm


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